We Are Blessed

Mike and I feel overwhelmingly blessed. We have so many wonderful family members and friends that we can truly count on. Last week all of the siding was delivered and Mike decided to install as much as he could this weekend. So on Friday I started the phone tree... We ended up with so much help, it was all greatly appreciated. Thank you very, very much, Dad, Scott, Dave, Pop, Uncle Bob, Austin, Jordan, Mikey Barr, Joseph, Tom, and Jeff. Mike and I are very grateful for all of your help, we could not have done it without you. I also feel it is important to thank our cooks too! Nana and Chris, lunch and dinner were wonderful, it was an excellent first meal in our new house! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, to everyone, Mike and I love you all very much! Here’s to a successful siding party!

The Dynamic Duo, Mike and Mike!

I am not sure who is in charge of this group, Joe or Pop?

Uncle Bob, measuring Twice and cutting Once!

Finally and UpDate!

OK, OK! I know it has been a while since my last post, but a ton has happened in the past few weeks and there just has not been time to make updates... but anyhow...
First off, last week I was in Buffalo for training at the NEDA Conference (Northeastern Economic Development Association). It was very nice, Buffalo is a beautiful city! While I was gone in Buffalo, Mike finished up some last minute wiring and pluming that needed taken care of, he is such a hard worker! This past week has been pretty rough for our family, my Great Gram passed away Monday evening. She had fallen and broke her hip about a month ago and has been fighting getting better. We love her and will miss her very much but we know that she will always be with us.
This past week we had soffit and fascia delivered and Mike and my dad got all of that installed, it makes the house look so much cleaner and finished! I love it! Yesterday we had siding delivered and Mike started putting it up as well, my dad and grandpa were there keeping their eyes on him making sure he did it right! I must say Mike took it upon himself to pick out the siding, I admit, I am extremely impressed and pleased! I was overly excited about how beautiful the color is; the pictures don’t do it justice, please please please stop out and see it! Also this week, are you ready for this...??? Mike and I celebrated our 3rd Wedding Anniversary! I can’t even believe it has been three years; time has gone by so quickly! I was in Harrisburg today working on a state financing program and when I got home there were beautiful, red, long stem roses in a box on my bed with a card. It was really cute and the flowers are beautiful! Pop, this is where I tell you how lucky I am! HAHA!

This is what the siding is starting to look like! I love it!

The guys hard at work!

Some of my Anniversary Roses that I put in a vase! What a Sweetie!
Soffit and Fascia! Looks Great!
More Soffit and Fascia

The Boys took a break on Sunday and made some Homemade Apple Cider!

Windows, Check! Electrical & Plumbing, Check, Check!

I am chalking this up as the toughest week to date... Construction has not been bad, but Mike has been away. As I am sure most of you are aware, we had one heck of a wind storm Sunday Night/Monday Morning, courtesy of Hurricane Ike (all I have to say is that the people that chose to stay behind in Texas are nuts, the wind here was bad and it was 4x worse there!). At any rate... Monday morning at about 1:00AM, Mike’s cell phone goes off... it was work and he was to report for Hazard duty! Monday he worked local, but on Tuesday he joined the crew and left for Ohio to help restore power there. It is now 5:00PM on Friday and Mike is still in Ohio! So needless to say, very little got done on the house this week. My dad was kind enough to finish the electrical and cable wiring (with the help of his MVA (Most Valuable Assistant) ME! Ok maybe I was more in the way than anything else, but at least he had company. He also finished the drain plumbing. The rest of our windows were delivered yesterday afternoon and Chuck and crew were there to put them in this morning. WOW! Did the circle top windows ever change the look of the house! I was totally excited when I came home! I am hoping Mike will be back Saturday night or early on Sunday. I am leaving for a conference in Buffalo on Sunday afternoon and will not be back until late Tuesday night.... So until then... Have a great weekend everyone!

Front view with circle top windows!

The window from inside my office looking out!

Back of the house with circle tops!

Scott thinks he is moving in! HAHA! I would probably enjoy it if they did, I can't stand quiet!

What Is It, What The Heck Is It?

So, I got home from work yesterday and Mike greets me with, “Babe, I don’t think you are going to like the chimney.” So what do I do, I jump in the car and drive straight up to see what in the heck he is talking about! Much to my surprise it looked like someone had built an “Outhouse” for lack of a better term, on the back side of our house (see attached picture). It was awful! So I panicked all night about it, then the next morning Mike went up to the house and told Chuck that I really didn’t like the outhouse look and asked if anything else could be done. Chuck thought this was pretty darn funny and said that it is what it is. So I stopped out this morning on my way to work to drop off donuts and there is Chuck, up on the roof fixing it up! It looks 100X better now. This week Mike was off work and between him, his dad and my brother, they were able to get just about all of the electrical wiring completed. Penelec came and hooked up our power, so we now have electricity to the house too! My dad and grandpa did all of the back filling this week so no more holes to fall into! Next week is plumbing for Mike and crew and Chuck and gang will be putting in windows! I am going to Lowe’s on Sunday to finalize my kitchen plans and get that ready to order! It is really starting to feel like home.
Also in pictures below I started to add some of the interior, you will have to use your imagination on the rooms! Please stop out and see us, I actually have something to present now!

This is the "Bad" chimney that I think resembles an outhouse.

This is the new and improved Chimney that looks much much much better!

This is a view of the back of the house.

This is the front view, YAH for windows next week!

This is looking into the kitchen/breakfast nook area.

This is the master bedroom! Lots of Windows!

This is from the far end of the family room looking toward my office.

This is the family room looking toward the fireplace.

Almost Under Roof!

We are almost completely under roof! The roofing crew was on site yesterday and they got about two thirds of the roof completed! I was also pleasantly surprised that Chuck added what I call the “little peaky things” to the corners of the gable ends. This was a debate last week if we were still getting those or not and as it turns out we did! The guys also decided to pull a fast one on me and tell me that the headers were built too short and that I would not be getting my circle top windows after all. I was about in tears last night, the circle tops were one of my favorite parts of the house. They finally gave in and told me they were pulling my leg! Don’t they know they can’t do those things to me; I am already under enough stress, HAHA!

This is the backside of the house with shingles, you can all see that the electic meter box was installed and the chimey was framed for the fireplace.

This is my dad finishing the installation of the heating service pipes. GO GREEN!
This is the front of the house, they framed in the front porch header and added the "peaky things." It is really coming together.

This is a side view, I just thought it looked cool!

I Need To Go Away More Often!

I have come to the conclusion that I need to go away more often! HAHA! It seemed like a lot got done while I was in Atlanta (which by the way went very well, I absolutely fell in love with the city and had an excellent time!). While I was gone Chuck and the gang finished the roof and got it ready for shingles, Mike framed the interior walls, so now I can see what all my rooms are going to look like. Mike, my dad, his dad and Scott started the heating system which by the way reminds me of that movie, Tremors! It scares me! So now I have ditches of pipe all threw the yard. Chuck and gang also got the electric service started and the meter box installed. I got a fun surprise tonight too... they put on all of the little decorative corner roof pitches! I wasn’t sure if that got cut and I was really hoping that it didn’t, so that was a very pleasant surprise tonight! It is finally starting to look like a house, I can hardly believe it! Tomorrow the roof crew will be on site singling! So by weeks end I assume we will be completely under roof and not have to worry about rain!
Come out and see us when you get a chance, things are starting to get really exciting!

This is what the front of the house is starting to look like! It actually looks like a house now!

This is the start of the interior framing! Mike told me I am a contractors worse nightmare!

I got a huge kick out of this, if you look really closely, Chuck wrote me a Welcome Home note on the roof with orange spray paint! It made my day!
This is what the back of the house is starting to look like!
This is the beginning of our Tremors Hole! We had to fill it in with dirt (dirt with no rocks mind you) so there was a lot of hand shoveling going on tonight!

Here is Scott and Mike making the pipe loops for the Geothermal Heating.


This is the last set of pipe being lowered into one of four ditches!

We Are Moving Right Along!

WOW! We are moving right along, I can hardly believe how much the look of the house has changed this week! We got the garage walls put up, the roof trusses on and the back porch framed! It really is starting to look like a house. If you have not stopped out to see it in person yet I really encourage you to do so... the pictures are not doing it justice!
I am uploading pictures tonight of the roof, this weekend Mike and Scott I believe are doing the interior framing so we will know what our rooms will somewhat look like. I will try my best to post something on Sunday or Monday but I cannot make any promises. I will be leaving for Atlanta on Tuesday for work and will not get home until late Friday night/early Saturday morning, then Gabby's bridal shower is on Saturday, the Bachelorette Party is Saturday night.... so if I do not post (Aunt Amy this is for you...) I will post next Sunday when I get home from Atlanta! All Pictures this time are courtesy of my Grandma Hendricks, she was nice enough to go up today and take them while I was at work! Love yah Gram!